On 31st of July 2010, BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live show featured Laurie Anderson picking two significant pieces of music of her life.
She 'inherited' Philip Glass' Music in Twelve Parts:
"There's something so obliterating about that music, I really loved it. [...] In the early 70s, going to Philip Glass' rehearsals was where a lot of us (musicians, dancers, sculptors) learnt to be artists."
... and 'passes on' Strange Fruit (sung by Billie Holiday) to the next generation:
"It's like a haiku, describing an image of a lynched person hanging from a tree. And then, the context is this incredible beauty, the gallant South and sweet magnolias, so you have a horrifying image in this genteel and beautiful almost kind-of garden. That kind of duality has an incredible punch for me. [...] Can art of music influence behaviour, or even, let's say, politics? In the case of this song, it absolutely did."
The programme is already available to listen to at BBC website but here is an edited version of it, trimmed down to Laurie's parts only:
- beginning of the programme: a collage of questions, questions, questions (playing time: 0 mins 22 secs, file size: 0.5 MB)
- all in one: introduction and Laurie's picks (playing time: 7 mins 32 secs, file size: 10.3 MB)
- Laurie's first pick: Music in Twelve Parts by Philip Glass (playing time: 3 mins 32 secs, file size: 4.64 MB)
- Laurie's second pick: Strange Fruits by Billie Holiday (playing time: 3 mins 19 secs, file size: 4.56 MB)
